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Blackhawks to take part in Chicago Pride Parade

Retired forward Daniel Carcillo, members of front office will march in 48th annual event

by
Brian Hedger
/ NHL.com Correspondent

CHICAGO -- He doesn't know what Float 36 looks like yet, but former Chicago Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo will walk along with it Sunday in the 48th annual Chicago Pride Parade.

Carcillo, who now assists the Blackhawks as a community liaison, will be accompanied by members of the front office as they join the Chicago Gay Hockey Association's contingent of marchers.

"I don't want to give away any secrets, but I do know we're Float 36," said Carcillo, who played three seasons in Chicago during two stints and won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015. "All I know is I'm going to be getting some beads and throwing them out. It's going to be fun."

Carcillo decided to stay in the Chicago area after retiring from hockey following the Blackhawks' 2015 championship. He got married, became a dad and is a youth hockey coach for one of the area's best programs. He also does community outreach through the Blackhawks, which he values quite a bit.

"The [Blackhawks] are very involved in the community, and I've decided to help out in the local community as much as I can," Carcillo said. "[Participating in the Pride Parade] is one more of those things they do to stay relevant in the community year-round, and their support through this event is important. The support of the NHL is important too. This will be a fun event."

The Blackhawks also lent support to the LGBTQ community in February during the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone campaign. They held a floor hockey clinic hosted by former Blackhawks forward Ben Eager at the Center on Halsted, a LGBTQ community center that gets visited by more than 1,000 people daily.

"The [Blackhawks] and the NHL are industry leaders in the Hockey Is For Everyone campaign," Carcillo said, "and it's important to both the Hawks and the NHL to ensure that hockey truly is for everyone."

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